Production of Radioactive 22Na in Core-collapse Supernovae:The Ne-E(L) Component in Presolar Grains and Its Possible Consequences on Supernova Observations

Presolar graphite grains carry the isotopic signatures of their parent stars. A significant fraction of presolar graphites show isotopic abundance anomalies relative to solar for elements such as O, Si, Mg, and Ca, which are compatible with nucleosynthesis in core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe). Therefore, they must have condensed from CCSN ejecta before the formation of the Sun. Their most puzzling abundance signature is the 22Ne-enriched component Ne-E(L), interpreted as the effect of the radioactive decay of 22Na (T1/2 = 2.6 yr). Previous works have shown that if H is ingested into the He shell and not fully destroyed before the explosion, the CCSN shock in the He-shell material produces large amounts of 22Na. Here we focus on such CCSN models, showing a radioactive 26Al production compatible with grain measurements, and analyze the conditions of 22Na nucleosynthesis. In these models, 22Na is mostly made in the He shell, with a total ejected mass varying between 2.6 × 10−3 M⊙ and 1.9 × 10−6 M⊙. We show that such 22Na may already impact the CCSN light curve 500 days after the explosion, and at later stages it can be the main source powering the CCSN light curve for up to a few years before 44Ti decay becomes dominant. Based on the CCSN yields above, the 1274.53 keV γ-ray flux due to 22Na decay could be observable for years after the first CCSN light is detected, depending on the distance. This makes CCSNe possible sites to detect a 22Na γ-ray signature consistently with the Ne-E(L) component found in presolar graphites. Finally, we discuss the potential contribution from 22Na decay to the Galactic positron annihilation rate.